Sheryl Shaw of Anahuac, Texas, will be the guest speaker for the Liberty County Historical Commission quarterly meeting on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the A.J. “Jack” Hartel Building, 318 San Jacinto Street in Liberty. The public is encouraged to attend and is welcome.
Ms. Shaw, a gifted historian and writer, has served for many years as the county chair of the Chambers County Historical Commission. She is currently serving as co-director of the Chambers County Museum in Wallisville.
Liberty and Chambers counties share a significant common history, most notably the fact that Chambers County was originally part of Liberty County. This shared past includes settlement during Spanish and Mexican rule, a key role in the Texas Revolution, and the presence of notable historical figures such as Sam Houston. When the Republic of Texas was established in 1836, the original Liberty County covered a vast area that included all of what would later become Tyler County, as well as portions of Chambers, Hardin, San Jacinto, and Polk counties.
The Texas Legislature officially carved Chambers County out of the southernmost part of Liberty County in 1858. The new county was named after Thomas Jefferson Chambers, a major general in the Texas Revolution. Residents of the greater Liberty area, which included the future Chambers County, participated in early resistance against the Mexican government. The Anahuac Disturbances of the 1830s, for example, took place in an area that would later become part of Chambers County. After the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, Mexican prisoners were sent to Liberty before their release.
Ms. Shaw, a vivid storyteller, will paint a picture of the shared history between the two counties during the Texas Revolution and share a few little-known facts. She will also introduce the Atakapa, who called themselves the Ishak, which translates as “the people.”
The Atakapa were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands who historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They were known to practice cannibalism related to warfare, and many explorers met a grisly fate upon encountering this tribe.
For more information concerning the Liberty County Historical Commission, email lchc318@gmail.com